Baby Did a Bad, Bad Thing- For a Good Cause
by IlovetowriteSMP
Summary: AJ saves Carly's life and then he kidnaps her- well, sort of. Can these two exes find forgiveness for each other for the sake of their five year old little boy? Set after the Port Charles Hotel Fire. COMPLETE
1. Chapter 1

**Note- **_This is for the prompt thread entitled "Write That Couple" at Love Happens. I prefer Jarly to this paring but the challenge was to write this couple. I thought I would share it here to see if there are any fans of this pairing. _

_I've been reading a lot of Harlequin romances lately so that is the inspiration for this storyline._

**Baby Did A Bad, Bad Thing (For A Good Cause)**

**Carly and AJ from GH**

**February 2004**

Part One

Kidnaping your ex-wife was definitely a bad idea, which meant it was right up his alley.

Just ask any of his relatives. Most of them couldn't go a day without reminding him of what a loser he was. Though it hadn't_ always_ been that way. There had been a time when Alan James Quartermaine Jr.- better known as A.J- wasn't the screw up of his rich, powerful family, a time when he was just as adored as his younger brother, the golden boy of the clan, Jason.

Jason. Brain damaged and a hit man but the whole family believed him to be a better guy, with a bigger heart and a sharper intellect than AJ.

Just thinking of his brother set AJ's teeth on edge. Once they had been the best of friends- sharing secrets, covering for each other, playing tennis and volleyball for hours on end- but now they were bitter enemies.

And it was mainly the fault of the woman who was coughing, shivering and dripping blood on the expensive leather seats of his sports car next to AJ right now, as AJ drove away from the hotel that his family owned. Flames were still shooting out of the building and people were still trapped inside- even people that AJ loved- but the firefighters were there to handle that. He had to handle his Carly problem before he could worry about anything or anyone else.

When AJ had stumbled along his ex- wife, and the mother of his only child ( a five year old ginger haired boy named Michael), in the stairwell of the burning hotel, he had thought that God was trying to punish him by slowing him down on his escape from the building.

There she had lain, sprawled on the stairs, unconscious, bleeding from a head wound and AJ had known that no matter how much of a bastard everyone constantly told him that he was he couldn't leave her that way. So he had scooped her up and began to carry her down the stairs.

After a couple of flights she had woken up, coughing and struggling to get a deep breath, and gave him a quizzical look "Where am I?"

"Just shut up," he had gritted out, struggling to carry her when the air was so thin that he could barely catch his breath.

"Who are you?" she asked, groggily.

"What? You know who I am. You really must have bumped your head good."

"Owwww. Damn, it hurts." She coughed some more, lifted her head and sniffed. "Oh my god! We're in a fire!"

The stairwell had been blocked by debris so AJ had pried open the door on the third floor, hurried through the smoke into a hotel room and made it to the bathroom, to get wet rags for their faces.

"We're gonna die!" Carly had cried.

"I'm not gonna let that happen. The whole family would say I did it on purpose just because I hate you! Here, put this over your mouth."

She coughed some more. "Why can't I remember anything? How do I know you?"

"Honey, you don't just _know _me. You married and divorced me. And if you forgot that then lucky you! Now come on!"

He hauled her back into his arms, went to find a different stairwell, slipped past the firemen who were making their way up and carried Carly outside. After getting checked by paramedics he promised to take her on the hospital but he had no intention of doing that.

With her memory on the fritz this was a good time for them to have a little chat. One that was very long overdue.

Usually she had her mobster husband, Sonny Corinthos, to keep AJ away from Carly and Michael and also Sonny's second in command, Jason, to run interference and be Carly's best friend and hero. For the first year of Michael's life Jason had even played Daddy to the boy, before AJ learned he was the true biological father and took his lying brother and scheming ex-friend (who he had a one night stand with) to court.

After that Carly decided to marry AJ in order to get some leverage on him and take Michael away for good. He had known what she was up to from the start but in the end that hadn't stopped AJ from doing destructive things that made him lose his wife and son anyway.

There had been a time he had thought that they could be a real family, all be happy together, that he could run ELQ and be everything that Michael and Carly wanted and needed, make the rest of the family see he deserved respect.

Now he knew that was hopeless. He'd always be useless in the eyes of his relatives. But there was only one relative he cared about anymore- his little boy Michael. Michael was still young enough to forget the past and bond with AJ, if only Carly would let that happen.

Tonight AJ would try to explain to her exactly why she should.

Pulling his car up to the cottage in the woods, he said "We're here."

"This isn't the hospital. Where are we?"

"The hospital is gonna be packed right now. Let me take care of you here."

She rubbed her forehead. "My head really hurts and I still can't remember anything. What's wrong with me?"

"You just got a little bump. Even the paramedic said your memory loss is probably just temporary. What you need is to get cleaned up, get some rest and tommorow morning I'll take you to a doctor, if you still can't remember anything, okay?"

Not waiting for an answer he climbed out of the sports car, walked around it and opened her door. "Come on."

She slowly got up but was a little wobbly on her feet. Carly reached for his arm for support. Their eyes met and held in the moonlight.

A shiver whipped through his body, an unbidden reaction to her beauty.

There had been time when he found himself undeniably attracted to her. Back when they first met she had seemed sweet and understanding, fun loving and quirky. Now he knew she was none of those things. Carly was a great schemer who had worked him and most of the other people she met in Port Charles in the years since she had rolled in like a late summer tornado, wrecking havoc and leaving destruction in her wake. Before she graced them with her presence here she had been born and raised in the swamps of northern Florida, growing up in a double wide trailer, dreaming of becoming a modern day Cinderella story- the poor girl in rags who turns into a princess because she caught the eye of a rich guy.

AJ grew up in a wealthy family and had a trust fund and he had been willing to share everything he had- even his heart- with her if she would only share their child with him but he hadn't been the prince in Carly's grown up fantasies. That had been his brother, Jason.

And even after Jason dumped Carly she ran off to marry a mob boss rather than come back to AJ.

He ranked lower than scum in her eyes.

Not that he cared anymore. He was over thinking they could ever fall in love with each other. All he wanted was for her to listen to him and hear how much he loved his son and how much he missed Michael.

If Carly had her memories right now she'd never give AJ five minutes of her time. Luckily she didn't. He needed to take advantage of that fact- for the sake of his son.

And if Carly died from her injuries...well then that would be one less person out of the way of keeping AJ from his child.

Hey, she had decided to play dirty first. He was just trying to keep up with her.


	2. Chapter 2

**Note- Thank you for reviewing!**

**Baby Did A Bad, Bad Thing (For A Good Cause)**

**Carly and AJ from GH**

**February 2004**

Part Two

Ever since she had blinked her eyes opened in that smoky stairwell she had felt like she underwater and struggling to reach the surface again. Head pounding, thoughts garbled, everything hazy. She couldn't grab onto one coherent thought long enough to string it together with another one and figure out what she should do next- so for right now she was going to go along with whatever her ex-husband suggested but as soon as she got her head on straight again she was going to figure everything out.

Like who she was. Why she had been in a burning building. And why she had divorced this hunk. Why he hated her now.

At least he hadn't hated her enough to let her burn to death in that hotel. He had actually been pretty heroic in saving her life.

Thank God he had come along when he did. She shivered to think what would have happened to her if he hadn't. Already she had a bump on her head, couldn't remember very much about herself, him or any of her past and was coughing because of smoke inhalation.

A little while longer in that stairwell and she could have been dead. But he hadn't let that happen. So that must mean he was a good guy, someone she could trust...at least until morning, when he had already promised to take her to the hospital.

"_The hospital is gonna be packed right now," he had said when he pulled up in front of this cottage in the woods. "Let me take care of you."_

The paramedics had said to make sure she got checked out by a doctor but that she was stable for now. Was it really safe to be here with him instead of at the hospital? She wasn't sure but her head hurt too much to think about it anymore at the moment. He wouldn't save her life just to bring her here to let her die so he must think it was safe to wait it out here until the morning.

Carly let AJ lead her to the cottage, leaning heavily on his arm. "Do you live here?"

He found a hidden key in a fake rock. "A friend used to. I can't take you to my place because I live with my parents, grandparents, cousins, aunts and uncles. It's already a packed house and, trust me, they are nosy as hell. You wouldn't get a moment's peace there."

Using the key, he opened the door and helped her inside. Pulling a sheet off a couch, he helped Carly sit down, found a blanket for her to use and then said "I'll make a fire. It will be warm in here in no time."

After making the fire in the wood burning fireplace, he ordered a pizza and some soft drinks to be delivered, using his cell phone, and then sat down on the couch next to her.

Reaching out, he gently moved her hair away from the cut on her forehead, which the paramedic had bandaged and murmured "No matter how much we hate each other, I never wanted to see you hurt. You believe that, right?"

Her mouth went dry at the intense tone in his words. She couldn't remember him or the past that they had shared but she had a sense that he wasn't lying about them being married before. Her body reacted to him in a way that was beyond her control- leaving her feeling scorched every time she looked into his eyes.

She wished she could remember their history! It was so frustrating to not know how they met, why she fell in love with him, why they broke up.

The paramedics had seemed to think her amnesia was just temporary. Already she was starting to recall a few things but the only memories she had so far were brief flashes of the fire and seeing other people, who she couldn't quite name but she felt as if she recognized them, caught in the fire too.

Carly nodded. "Do you think everyone else made it out of the fire okay?"

"Let's hope so. I'm sure the firemen got them out. But the hotel is gonna be a total loss. Grandfather will be pissed about that. I told him to get those electrical problems looked at."

"Grandfather?"

"My grandfather, Edward Quartermaine, one of the richest men in this city and he never lets anyone forget it either." Shaking his head at the memory of his crazy relatives, AJ looked down for a moment, as he let his hand drop from cupping her face. "I didn't bring you here to talk about him though. You really can't remember anything?"

"Just bits and pieces of tonight. Can you tell me one thing?"

"What's that?"

"What is my name?"

"Carly. Caroline, actually, but you go by Carly. And I'm AJ."

"We were really married?"

"Unfortunately. Though it wasn't all bad. We did have one really good part of our time together...our son, Michael."

"I have a son? Where is he? He wasn't in the fire, was he?" She gasped for breath, feeling hysteria coming over her. Certainly this man would never have left their kid back in that burning hotel, so their boy must be okay, but she needed to hear the words to be sure.

"He's fine. Michael is with a babysitter."

"Oh, good. Michael...that name is so familiar and yet it's like his face is just outside of my reach. This is so damn frustrating!"

"You'll remember. Give it time."

"I want to remember now! I'm his mother! He needs me to remember him. I don't even know how old my own kid is."

"He's five years old." AJ pulled out his wallet and opened it. "He has your eyes and your mother's hair color. He favors the Spencers for better or worse."

She ran her finger over the picture of her boy. "He's beautiful."

"And smart too. He's a great kid, Carly."

"Carly Spencer. It feels funny. Like it doesn't fit."

"Yeah, well, it's complicated. You'll remember soon, I bet. And when you do you'll also remember that you hate me...so much you wish me dead...and I wish the same for you."

She gasped, shirking back away from him, suddenly feeling like she made a big mistake in letting him bring her to this cottage hidden away from the town. Maybe when that pizza guy showed up she would scream bloody murder and run away from this AJ guy...this ex-husband of hers that she still had a visceral reaction to.

"Hey!" AJ cried "Don't freak. Would I have saved your life just to bring you here to kill you?"

"If you wanna toy with me first, yeah."

"She's back. There's the Carly I know and hate. Always thinking someone is out to get her. Well, woman, listen here," he leaned very close to her face "I am not trying to wreck your life, unless you leave me no other choice. What would you do to the person who took your child away from you when he is the only person in the world you love more than yourself? What would you do if you lost your spouse, the person who was supposed to help make all your dreams come true? Huh? Would you be pissed? Would you want revenge? You cheated on me with my own brother!" He slammed his hand against his chest. "The guy I called my best friend! I loved Jason before you came along. You made me hate him and you...and all I want is to make you see that I'm not such a bad guy, no worse than Jason or you...and that I deserve a chance to be in my son's life again."

In that moment she got a flash of them in bed together. It shot through her made, heating up her blood, sending sparks racing over her chilled flesh, until she burned with desire for him.

Swallowing hard, Carly said "You loved me once, didn't you? You loved me and I left you for another man."

"We got married quick. You never gave me a chance to love you. It was always about my brother for you. But I wanted to love you, yeah, and I do love Michael and if you would just see that then maybe we wouldn't have to be enemies anymore." Tears burned his eyes when he told her "I need my boy back in my life."

"AJ...I'm sorry. I can see I hurt you. And, man, I'm so sorry about that. I never wanted to hurt anyone like you're hurting. I know what it is to be left...wow, where did that come from? But it's true. I know what it is like to be rejected and abandoned...by your family...Tell me, AJ, tell me why I know that."

"I guess because your mother gave you up for adoption. And then the guy who adopted you, he ran out on your adopted mom and left you dirt poor, all before you were two years old. Or so the story goes. With you, I never really know what story to believe and which one was concocted just to work me. But you favor the Spencers too."

"What does that mean? My family are a bunch of con artists? Hey, watch who you are talking about! I don't gotta take that crap from you or no one, even if you did save my life." She pulled the blanket he had given her around herself even tighter.

He smirked. "Yeah, you'll live. You're getting your temper back already and soon it will be your memories," his expression grew more serious and their eyes met and held again "but I can't let you leave here until you see how wrong you've been about me."

"And if I don't? Then what? You'll hold me here forever? Away from my little boy."

"Maybe. Don't worry, I'll keep you in pizza. It's your favorite."

"You wouldn't do that to me, AJ. As much as you hate me, you said you love our kid and he needs me."

"All right, all right, I'm not planning to hold you here after tommorow morning. But until then you're mine."

_You're mine_, the words repeated over and over in her head, as another flash came back to her. This time they were standing in the living room of a fancy house arguing. He grabbed her wrist and pulled her body against his, and she felt desire whip through her another time.

They had a volatile relationship, if that memory was any indiction. No wonder AJ said now that they hated each other. But they both loved Michael.

And shouldn't that mean more than anything. Could AJ really be so horrible that he didn't deserve to be near his own son? If he was that much of a monster why did he save her life tonight?

And why did she feel this attraction to him deep down in her core that felt like the only real thing in her world in the moment?


	3. Chapter 3

Baby Did A Bad, Bad Thing (For A Good Cause)  
Carly and AJ from GH  
February 2004

Part Three

"I really need to be in a hospital," Carly said, as she tried to get off the couch at the cottage where AJ had taken her.

He couldn't let her leave now though. Not yet. Not when she hadn't promised to allow him visitation of their son. Ever since their divorce she had been hiding behind bodyguards, her mob boss second husband and her best friend (who just happened to be AJ's treacherous brother), the hit man for the mob, Jason.

If Carly left right now she'd end up at the hospital where they would call Sonny or Jason and soon they would close ranks around her, cutting AJ out of Michael's life for who knows how many more years. Maybe for the rest of Michael's childhood.

It had already been four years since Carly walked out on her marriage to AJ to go shack up with Sonny- a gangster who took her in when Jason dumped her on her ass and left town. Now Jason was back but he didn't want Carly in his bed anymore and even the mobster husband had left her recently.

She was finally on a little bit of shaky ground- even more so tonight without her memories- and that gave AJ the opening he had been waiting and longing for since the day Carly had taken Michael from AJ's home. It might be cruel to take advantage of a woman in this state but it was no lower than what Carly would do and what she had done to him and all the other poor sucker's left in her wake over the years.

That woman really could be a bitch. But he could be as much of a bastard as he had to be in order to beat her at her own game.

There was a time when AJ had a high opinion of Carly but she ruined that by deciding he wasn't fit to be a father. After that they never really saw eye to eye again. He kept trying to convince her that together they could be stronger than apart, that together they could rule the Quatermaines and then all of Port Charles and wouldn't she love that? Carly always yearned to be rich and powerful and AJ would have been happy to make her so.

But she hadn't trusted him. She threw her lot in with gangsters instead and was raising his son surrounded by guns, bombs, danger and crime.

AJ had tried to fight her in court but Sonny had threatened to murder him if he didn't sign away his parental rights. From that day on AJ had lost what little meaning he had in his life, growing more and more distraught at the idea of never being able to be a real father to his boy. Some days he thought he would kill anyone who got in between him and Michael again.

Some days he was sure he was more dangerous than Sonny and Jason combined. But so far AJ hadn't put in motion any of his plans to get his son back from those people by any means necessary.

He would rather Carly just agree to a fair visitation schedule so this didn't have to get any uglier. Then they could both have a role in their son's life.

And since she was in the middle of a divorce to Sonny he wouldn't be a factor anymore. Things could end up the way AJ had always prayed they would be- with him and Carly being the only parents Michael knew.

Not if she left this cottage right now though.

He reached out and grabbed her arm. "You're not going anywhere."

She tried to yank her arm away but lost her balance and ended up falling onto him. "Hey! Back off!"

"If I wasn't here you'd be on your ass on the ground, you really want me to back off?" He started to leave go of her but she grabbed onto him tighter. "That is what I thought. Come on, lets get you into the kitchen. I saw some bottles of water. You need to get cleaned up before the pizza gets here."

"Wait, wait, AJ. Why did you bring me here instead of the hospital? It doesn't make sense."

"Haven't you figured it out yet? This is as close to you as you've let me get in years...I had to take the opening when I saw it."

Their eyes met and held again.

He went on "Till morning, Carly, you're staying right here with me. You're gonna give me that much. You owe me."

A shiver raced over her and he felt her quake in his arms. AJ lifted her off her feet and carried her to the kitchen, sat her on the top of a table, grabbed the bottle of water and used the sheet that was covering a chair as a make shift wash cloth to wipe the soot and grime off of Carly's face and hands.

It was the most he had touched her since the last time they made love. During their marriage, when she had been trying to work him, they had sex many times. He let himself believe she felt something just like he had, let himself believe (even knowing she was a schemer who wanted him dead) that they shared something amazing together- at least between the sheets.

And maybe they had. Maybe he just hadn't been with enough women to know that it didn't always feel like that.

He'd had his share but none as fiery and dangerous as Carly. None who set his blood pumping with one hard look from across a crowded room, a look that dared him to try her. AJ never backed down from a dare and he hadn't backed down from the temptation of bedding Carly again after she was his wife.

Maybe he had only been working her the way she had been working him but he had more noble purposes- to give Michael the family he should have always had, with both his biological parents. Biology didn't mean a damn thing to Carly. She always said AJ should just walk away from his son and leave her be happy with Jason...or Sonny...or the milkman, anyone but AJ.

He couldn't do it though. Michael, even if AJ had to catch glimpses of him at the playground, was the center of his world. Michael was his only child- his hope, his dreams, his seed. He wouldn't turn his back on his boy ever.

And Carly wasn't gonna keep them apart anymore.

It was up to AJ to convince her he still had redeemable qualities. If only she didn't still rile him up so much. He had to watch what he said to her. She was getting under his skin already.

It had been way too long since he was with a woman. After Carly he just didn't seem to be able to find someone who got his blood racing like she could. Not that it was a good thing to get to him in the particular way this woman did.

In fact someone could die from the kind of combustion that was ignited when the two of them got near each other.

As he was wiping her face clean, she gripped his wrist, stopping his movements, and whispered "Why are you helping me? I don't get it. You hate me. You said so more than once already tonight."

He let out a sound that was halfway between a strangled sound of lust and frustration. "Yeah but I've come to accept that you hold the key to my happiness. Don't you see? You have all the power over me."

Her head titled to the side. Lifting her other hand, she caressed his face as she whispered "That must suck for you."

"Yeah, it really does," he whispered back, his heart suddenly speeding up.

She leaned forward and brushed her lips against his.

He jerked back. "Don't do that."

"I was just testing a theory. That we were good in bed together."

"That doesn't matter anymore."

"So we were good? Or were we great? Can you still remember what it felt like? Cause I've forgotten everything else but I keep getting these images in my mind of you and me...going at it...hard."

His mouth went dry. "God, you're trouble, Carly. Pure trouble. I need to have my head checked for spending any more time with you tonight or ever than is absolutely necessary."

"You saved my life. You keep saying you hate me but you don't want this night to end...because you don't know when you'll ever see me again and you need to see me...and I get that. I feel it, too, AJ. It doesn't make sense but I feel that there is something between us that has got a hold of both of us and won't let go and I can't ignore it..."

She leaned forward to kiss him again but just then they heard a banging on the door. Before their lips could touch, he moved back from her.

"That's gotta be the pizza. Can you walk?"

She stood up, wrapping the blanket around herself again, and nodded. "I think so."

He groaned. "All right. Lean on me. But don't try any funny stuff. We're divorced for a reason!"

She smirked. "Was it your bad temper?"

"No, yours!"

"I can see I get under your skin."

"You think?"

She leaned against his side and he helped her to the living room, while the pizza guy kept knocking.

AJ sat Carly back down on the couch. "I'm coming! I'm coming!" he yelled out "Hold your dang horses! Geez!"

He crossed the room, yanked open the door, pulled out his wallet and shoved a few twentys at the guy. "Keep the change and if anyone asks, you never saw me or her," and then he closed the door in the teenager's face.

Carly had a full smile on her face by that time. "You must make friends everywhere you go."

"Ha," he grumbled. "Not quite."

"You know it is just as easy to smile as frown, that is something Virginia used to always say to me...whoa, who is Virginia?"

"You're adopted mother."

"I'm remembering!" she cried excitedly "Now if only more would come back. It's really freaky not remembering my own life, my own kid, us."

"There is no us anymore. What you tried to do in the kitchen, don't do that again."

"Kiss you? You can say it, AJ."

He made a frustrated sound as she set down the pizza and opened it. He tossed a can of pop at her. "Don't complain that it's not diet. I'm not in any mood for any more out of you right now. Everything is going wrong, as usual when you're concerned."

Still smirking, she popped open the can and took a sip. "You're just mad because I got to you and you don't like it that your ex-wife can still turn you on."

"I'm glad you find this so funny."

"You should be happy. You brought me here because you miss me...even if you hate missing me...and now we find out that deep down inside I must miss you two...or at least miss kissing you. You should be enjoying that fact because, who knows, by morning I may remember why I don't let you kiss me anymore."

"Yeah. And then the real trouble will start."


	4. Chapter 4

**Baby Did A Bad, Bad Thing (For A Good Cause)**

**Carly and AJ from GH**

**February 2004**

**Part Four**

Carly giggled as she reached for a piece of pizza. She took a bite and let out a moan. "Oh God, that is better than sex..._almost." _She ate another bite before asking "So why is it that you're the only guy I can remember sleeping with? I keep getting these flashes of us...but nothing else...except the fire. Were you my one and only?"

"Ha! Good one. Oh, God, tommorow you are gonna wanna murder me. I can see it now. When you realize the way you were talking you're gonna see red."

"Okay, so you weren't my one true love or my only lover, I take it from how you're reacting, but we did have something intense between us, right? We must have if we got married."

"We married for the sake of Michael. He is the driving force in both of our lives. Except you never believed that about me. You believed I was using him to win favor with my family."

"Were you?"

"I love my son! You can say whatever else you want about me, call me a drunk and a bastard, but don't you ever, ever again question my love for Michael. When you took him from me you took away my only reason to live."

Right then she got another flash in her head of them arguing on a staircase and her losing her balance, then falling down them. She swallowed hard.

"We really did a number on each other, huh?" she asked him.

"You could say that, yeah." He let out a sigh. "But we could fix it all. If you would just allow me to visit with Michael again. I don't know what I was hoping I could say to you tonight...why I brought you here...but all I knew when we left that hotel was that if I didn't convince you that I've changed...that I'm worthy to know my son...I'd wake up tommorow the same as today. Wanting a drink so I didn't have to face the reality that I've lost the best thing in my life. Hell, the only good thing I've ever had in my life." He looked deep into her eyes. "I'm not drinking anymore. I'm not the monster you think I am. I saved your life tonight. Don't that prove anything to you?"

She nodded, not trusting her own voice, as more and more flashes of her life came into her mind. This time she saw herself pregnant and then holding her son and then marrying AJ, kissing a dark haired Spanish man, crying in the arms of a blonde man who looked a lot like AJ...that must be his brother, Jason.

"Carly," AJ whispered "please remember tommorow that it's safe to let Michael near me. That I would never hurt him or you again. My life means nothing without my son in it. Every since you left me..."

Tearing his gaze away, he stared into the fire.

She scooted closer to him and touched his back. "I can see how much you love him. I really can, man. And I'm sorry that we made such a mess out of our marriage and our kid's life."

After a long moment she said "I really need to call Michael. He must be so scared, wondering why I never came home. Can I use your phone?"

AJ gave her the phone and dialed a number. "Your babysitter," he said to her.

Carly mouthed "Thank you," and took the phone. "Hello?"

"Carly? Is that you? Oh, thank God, I saw the hotel fire on the TV and I was so worried about you and everyone! Is Mr. Corinthos okay, too? And Jason?"

"I don't know...I was lucky to make it out alive myself...Is Michael all right? Is he scared?"

"He's sleeping. He didn't see the news. Are you in the hospital?"

"On my way there. I bumped my head. I'm not sure if they will let me go home right away. Will you stay with Michael and make sure he doesn't see the news?"

"Of course. Should I call this number back if Mr. Corinthos or Jason ask me where you are?"

"Sure. Thanks. And, please, kiss my little boy for me and tell him that Mommy loves him very much...and that AJ loves him too."

AJ's face registered surprise at those last words.

"Bye," Carly said into the phone, before disconnecting the call. "There. You see. I'm not as big of bitch as you seem to think. I have a heart too."

"For now. Until your memory comes back."

"Why don't you eat some pizza and stop being so grumpy? Your blood sugar is probably low. You sucked in a lot of smoke too. Ain't your mouth dry? Have something to drink. And, while you are at it, get yourself cleaned up. That shirt is disgusting."

It was all sweaty, dirty and torn from being in the fire.

Carly went on "You should probably just take it off."

"Yeah, you'd like that, wouldn't you? And then tommorow you'd cried that I took advantage of the poor lady with amnesia."

"I got the feeling that I used to give it to you as good as you gave it to me and I never let you take advantage of me."

"You got that right."

She handed him a piece of pizza. "Shut up for five minutes and just eat. If you pass out from hunger, who will drive me to the hospital?"

"Always looking out for number one."

"If I don't then who will?"

"Hmpf." He chomped away at the pizza, half glaring at her.

"I really work your nerves, don't I?"

He opened a can of pop and took a long guzzle before responding "You could say that."

"But the sex was hot, wasn't it?"

She could tell he was thinking about it as their eyes met and held and that it had been desperately hot, just like her flashes of memories told her it was.

He shrugged a shoulder. "It was okay. I've had better."

"Bull."

He chuckled. "Okay, it was out of this world, you happy now?"

She smirked. "I knew it. That is one thing I do remember perfectly."

"It's just because you're here with me. Once you get around your family and friends you'll remember them and that you hate me."

"Probably but I will also remember that you saved my life tonight and that counts for something. No promises about you seeing our kid but I will never forget that you are the reason I get to go home to him in the morning."

Their eyes held for a long moment again before AJ said "Finish up your pizza and I'll get you to GH- General Hospital."

"Thought you said it would be too busy for my little bump on my head?"

"That was just some nonsense I made up to get time alone with you."

"You don't say," she teased.

He rolled his eyes. "I guess I've said and done as much as I can. If you don't see that I only want the best for you and Michael now then a few more hours here won't do it."

"You took an awful big chance bringing me here. It could have made me only hate you more."

"I didn't have much to lose at this point."

"And maybe you missed me? Just a little bit?"

"Don't push it."

She smirked at him and grabbed another piece of pizza.


	5. Chapter 5

**Baby Did A Bad, Bad Thing (For A Good Cause)**

**Note- **_Even though Morgan Corinthos was born in October of 2003 on GH, in this story he does not exist_**.**

**Carly and AJ from GH**

**February 2004**

**Part Five**

_Three Days Later_

"What the hell were you doing meeting AJ at Kelly's?" Sonny yelled at Carly, as they stood in the living room of his penthouse. "Jason, talk some sense into her! I know she's not herself lately but she's gonna regret going around that snake."

"You know she doesn't have all of her memory right now," Jason said to Sonny.

"Stop!" Carly yelled. "Stop talking about me like I'm not here. I'm getting more and more of my memories back everyday and I remember enough to know that none of us are perfect. AJ saved my life. All he wants is to see Michael every now and then. I'm Michael's mother so I make that call! Not either of you."

"Right now you're in no shape," Sonny said "to be deciding nothing. Stay away from AJ. I mean it."

"Or else what?" Carly asked, getting up in his face.

Jason rubbed his head. "Come on, you two, don't start. You're giving me a headache already. You don't want Leticia bringing Michael home and seeing you two going at each other, do you? Michael comes first."

Carly sighed. "I know that I don't remember everything AJ did to make me wanna divorce him or keep Michael away from him and, trust me, I'm being cautious but I didn't see the harm in meeting him for lunch. I owed him one. And Michael had a good time with his father."

"I'm Michael's father!" Sonny yelled.

"You're his step father and you're divorcing me. AJ is his real father. Why shouldn't I try to patch things up with AJ, if I can? It will make it a lot easier on Michael that way. He must feel torn between all these people who want a piece of him. No kid should have to go through that. I want better than that for my boy."

"Carly," Jason said "just wait till you have all your memories back to make any more big decisions, okay?"

"That could take weeks or months," she complained. "I keep getting flashes of memory but who knows when I'll get everything back, if ever. And AJ misses his son right now."

Jason's jaw tensed. "There was a very good reason you kept Michael from AJ for years. You fought hard to do it because he wanted full control of Michael. He didn't care if you got to be around him or not, as long as he could flaunt Michael for the Quartermaines and use him as a prized heir. When you get your memories back you will remember that you hated that about AJ. You've always trusted me. Can you trust me one more time?"

She nodded. "Okay. I'll wait till the rest of my memories come back before either myself or Michael go around AJ again but if I want to then neither one of you are gonna stop me. I'm a grown woman and Michael's mom. You two don't run my life."

With that said she stormed out of the penthouse, called Leticia and told Leticia to bring Michael to Carly's apartment, where she had moved in after Sonny asked her for a divorce.

That evening she sat on the couch, cuddling with her five year old son, eating cheesy snacks and watching cartoons when the doorbell rang. She walked over and looked through the peep hole.

"Michael, can you go find a puzzle for us to do? I'll be in your room to help you with it in a few minutes."

"But my show isn't over, Mama."

"We'll watch more cartoons later. Right now I need to talk to someone about grown up stuff, okay?"

There was another knock on the door.

Michael said "Okay," and ran off to his room.

Carly opened the door to find AJ in the hallway. "You shouldn't be here."

He gave her a small smile. "I know you asked for space but I just thought that maybe you and Michael might like to go out to dinner tonight."

"We're still full from lunch at Kelly's with you."

"Okay, okay, I'm pushing my luck here. I get it. It's just that it was so nice to hang out with you both and I wanted to see you both again. It means the world to me that you're considering allowing me visitations with Michael again."

"I can't promise you anything. Not until I remember everything that made me hate you."

His smile slipped off his face. "You've been talking to Jason, right? Or Sonny? Who was it that told you I'm scum and to stay far away from me? Damn it, Carly! Don't let that convince you of what you know isn't true. I'm not the bad guy here! No one in this picture is a saint. Not even your precious Jason."

"I get that but you acting like an ass on my doorstep won't win you any points with me."

"All right. I'm sorry. I just...I'm afraid I'm gonna wake up tommorow or the next day and you'll hate me again and I'll lose my last chance to know my boy."

"Even if I hate you, if I think that it's good for Michael I'll let you see him. Cause this ain't about me and you, AJ. It's about him. Our marriage was crazy and it didn't work. He shouldn't pay for that."

"Exactly."

"I'll let you know when I remember more and what I decide."

"Please, Carly," he reached out and cupped her cheek. "Please give me another chance. I'm off the booze. I'm reformed. I may not be a good guy but I love my kid. I love Michael more than anything. Please...if you remember anything...remember he needs me too. Remember what it was like to be that little girl whose father walked away. Don't make Michael feel that way too. Because I never walked away. And I never will."

"You better go, AJ," she whispered, desperately trying not to give into the heat that was flaring up in her because he was caressing her face and leaning close to her.

He pressed a kiss onto her cheek. "You know when we're getting along, it's kinda nice to know you. And it reminds me why I first liked you...you know, before I hated you."

She smirked. "Now if only I could remember if I ever liked you, before I hated you. Then we might be somewhere."

"I really don't think you and me are a good idea. But you, me and Michael...we're a family...and I will fight till my last breath to make that true again."

With that said, he walked away, leaving her thinking about his words. Had she made a real mistake when she pushed him out of Michael's life?

Was it too late to fix all that? Or was he really the threat that Sonny and Jason believed him to be?


	6. Chapter 6

**Baby Did A Bad, Bad Thing (For A Good Cause)**

**Note-**_This is the last chapter of this fic. I know it could go on for a lot longer but this story was written as a request, all in one day, and my muse did not want to continue for more chapters. Hope you enjoyed this version of this pair._

**Carly and AJ from GH**

**March 2004**

Part Six

Carly was no good at being patient. Her memory was slowly come back to her, a little more each day in flashes, but the doctors said they had no clue when, or if, she'd ever get it all back. She kept thinking about AJ and the time they spent together at the cottage in the woods.

Somehow he had gotten underneath her skin, leaving her itching to see him again. She told herself it was just because Michael needed to bond with his real father- and though AJ could be a jerk he wasn't drinking anymore and he didn't seem to be any more dangerous than a mob boss or a hit man.

Sure Sonny and Jason said different but it benefitted them to run down AJ to Carly. That way she'd side with them and let Sonny raise Michael as his own. Well Sonny was divorcing her so Carly didn't really give a damn what that man wanted anymore. When she had been going through the worse confusion of her life, missing her memories, Sonny had been short tempered with her and more interested in getting back to his baby mama, Alexis, and his daughter, Kristina, than showing concern for his soon to be ex-wife Carly. She wasn't gonna get herself twisted in knots over what that guy wanted.

All that mattered was what was best for her and her son. On her own she would figure out if that was AJ or not. To get started on that, she went to the Quartermaine mansion to visit him.

The butler acted shocked that she was there. "Ms. Roberts...err Mrs. Corinthos..."

"Call me Carly."

"Carly, come in, please. May I ask who are you here to call upon?"

"That would be AJ. I'm just dropping in so if he's not around, that's cool. Just tell him I came by."

"He's in the study with his grandfather. If you'll wait in the drawing room, I will inform him that you request his presence."

"Sure thing," she said, and let the butler lead her there. Once he left she said "Well la de dah dah dah, the drawing room. Ain't this place fancy." She walked around, admiring everything and then muttered "I always did wanna live in a place like this."

"And you did once but you hated it," AJ said, as he walked in, wearing a smile. "I'm surprised you're here. I've been on pins and needles wondering if you remembered any more and what you've decided."

"My memories are coming back bit by bit but I decided not to wait on that. What matters most is how we are now, not how we were then. Right?"

"If you say so," he said slowly. "What's the catch?"

"No catch. I just-"

"I'm glad you're here but I'm warning you that I'm not gonna let you work me again. I'm not the sucker I used to be. So if this is some scheme to get my defenses down then you might as well forget it right now, Carly."

"Wow. You are like some puppy that got beat. Always waiting for the next kick in the teeth. You know not everyone is always out to get you, don't you?"

"Yeah, well, it sure seems like it sometimes."

"You're gonna have to change around your woe is me attitude before you hang out with Michael. I don't want him thinking his daddy is some wimp." She sidled up to him, longing for a repeat of the heat that flared between them at the cottage. "You're not some wimp, are you?"

He leaned in closer to her and whispered "Oh, you are so trying to work me. I know that gleam in your eyes. It means you're up to something."

"Maybe I am," she whispered back before taking a step away from him. "You're just gonna have to take your chances if you want to be in mine and Michael's life again. For right now all I'm offering is baby steps. Meeting in public places where I know it's safe for Michael to be around you."

"Because I'm some big threat and your mobster husband is safe? Fine. Whatever. I'll play this game your way because Michael means too much to me to be picky."

"Smart move."

He smirked. "That is the first time anyone has called me smart in years."

"Well don't prove me wrong," she said, before she started to walk out of the room. He began to follow her out but she spun around, grabbed hold of his tie, jerked his body to hers and took his lip in a steamy, wicked kiss.

After Carly broke away she said "Damn, I've been wanting to do that for weeks now. See you later, AJ."

With that said, she walked out, with a satisfied smirk on her face. His kiss was as delicious as her flashes of memory told her it would be.

She still wasn't sure if he was a good enough man to be in Michael's life but Carly was willing to try to give AJ a second chance, not only because she was attracted to him and completely bored with her life (and he provided just the type of mystery and excitement that she was craving) but because she wanted Michael to have a relationship with his father, if it was at all possible.

Right now she didn't know if it was but she didn't get the feeling from AJ that he was any more dangerous than a mob boss or a hitman, and they were Michael's main male role models at the moment.

Maybe temporarily losing her memories had an upside to it. It had allowed the hate in her heart for AJ, brought on by their rocky marriage, to slip far enough back in her consciousness to allow her to see him for the man he was now, not that man he used to be.

As she was slowly remembering her life she was realizing she had done some messed up things too and she had a tendency to be reckless. Was letting AJ back in another messed up, reckless move?

Or just the perfect thing for herself and her little boy? It was a question it would take time to answer, and Carly planned to give herself and AJ all the time they needed to figure it out.

THE END


End file.
